When it comes to the business of selling property, real estate agents play an important role of listing and marketing the home on behalf of the seller. The other services undertaken by the real estate agent include acting as an intermediary between various parties during negotiation and facilitating showings. Due to the promise of great savings, homeowners who want to sell their properties have often toyed with the idea of bypassing real estate agent. Before making the decision on whether to sell the property on your own or via an agent, there are several critical questions you need to ask yourself. According to
Bankrate, you need to establish the following:
• Understand the current value of your home
• Establish if you will be in a position to screen buyer’s
• Are you willing to take criticism about your home?
• Will you be working alongside the buyer’s agent?
• Are you willing to take up the sales and marketing responsibilities?The question on whether to shoulder the sales and marketing responsibilities is highly critical. The first thing you need to do is appreciate the amount of work and sacrifice it takes to market a home. The whole process entails taking professional photos of the property, installing “For Sale” sign, writing an effective pitch, sending promotional flyers and listing the property on various advertising media. Besides marketing, you also need to make sure the home is clean and ready for showing at any given notice. If you decide to sell the property on your own, you must also be in a position to screen buyers. One way to do this is requesting the prospects to provide a pre-approval letter from reputable lenders. This is an important strategy of ensuring only serious buyers are given the opportunity to view and buy the home.
How real estate startups are streamlining the sale of properties and cutting cost
When closing a deal, the real estate market dictates that property sellers pay a standard 5 to 6% commission to real estate agents. Today, real estate startups have made it easy for homeowners to sell property and in the process save money. Before the recent developments, real estate agents used to be privy to important real estate information that home buyers could only obtain by paying a premium. According to the LA Times, the housing information includes historic sales prices, photo galleries, new property listings and crime rates in the neighborhood. The ability to obtain this information freely has opened doors to a brave new reality where the real estate agents can be bypassed.
A number of startups have been established to assist home sellers do exactly that, overcome the painstaking hassles and avoid expensive purchases. Real estate agents are hitting back saying the idea to bypass them is shortsighted and aimed at overlooking the important role they play as professionals. According to CBS San Francisco Bay Area, some of the leading real estate startups in the market include; Faira, UpNest and Redfin. Redfin is the single largest start-up; it promises sellers huge savings amounting to thousands of dollars. Using the startup, realtors receive salary and benefits, but no commissions. The system works by closing the deal based on the first offer that is received or after a set time elapses. Faira is an interesting startup that entices sellers with a host of free services.
The startup, allows users to take photos, list their property and perform inspection and open houses for free. For premium services, sellers can contact a Faira agent for additional services. The platform allows interested buyers to place bids on the dashboard using their credit card numbers. When a higher bid is received, the system prioritizes it and promptly offers the bidder 5 days to commit. To ensure only serious bids are made, buyers who back out pay a fine of $500. In case a successful bid is received, the buyer’s agent receives a 3% commission from the seller while Faira bags 0.5% commission from the buyer. Sellers who are unwilling to buy into the technology can still go the traditional way by choosing the traditional real estate agencies operated by the startups. These agencies generally charge reasonable rates compared to non-startups.
About real state expert Luis Enrique Coll
Luis Enrique Coll is the Founder and President of Alco International Group, a multifaceted real estate company based in Florida. The company is also active in several overseas markets, including Panama and Venezuela. The real estate expert is actively engaged in constructing highly lucrative projects in various localities. As a highly opinionated influencer, Luis Enrique Coll also writes a lot about trends shaping the real estate industry such as the disruption caused by real estate startups.
